24th of June, 2000, Saitama (Japan). This is the date and place of birth of one of the great promises of world golf: Keita Nakajima. Precisely this week in the run-up to the ISPS Handa Championship being held in Japan, Ten Golf has had the opportunity to exclusively interview the latest local hero.
From the land of the rising sun, the 23-year-old player points to a very bright future. Just three weeks ago he was once again showing the golf world why there are so many expectations generated around his figure. The Saitama native claimed his first victory on the DP World Tour by authoritatively winning the Hero Indian Open. His first major international triumph at a professional level and one more step in his meteoric career.
It’s time to look back. Nakajima’s journey so far can be considered almost perfect. At an amateur level, he is already a legend. Keita set the record of 87 weeks at the top of the World Amateur Ranking between 2020 and 2022. He far surpassed the previous record held by Jon Rahm with 60 weeks. He also made history by becoming the first male player to win the Mark H. McCormack medal twice as the best male amateur golfer in the world in 2021 and 2022. Before turning professional, he also won the Australian Amateur 2021, the Japanese Amateur 2021 and the Asia Pacific Amateur Championship 2021. During his amateur stage, he even had time to win a professional tournament on the Japan Golf Tour.
Despite his youth, Nakajima has already played four Majors, all as an amateur, Masters and US Open in 2022 and the Open Championship of 2022 and 2023. He only has to debut at the PGA Championship. He will be able to get rid of that thorn in a few weeks, as after his victory in India he moved up to 75th place in the world ranking and therefore has a guaranteed place for the second Major of the season. However, he makes it very clear that if he could only play one course every day for the rest of his life it would be Augusta National: “I love it”
When Keita is asked about his aspirations, he makes it clear that his own expectations are not small: “I want to win the Masters and the Open”. Ambitious goals for a golfer who has two very clear mirrors to look at: “Tiger Woods is the reason I started playing golf and he is my lifelong idol. I admire Collin Morikawa as an Asian golfer and I have great respect for him”. Tiger and Collin.
From a very young age, he already has golf in his veins and the reason is named Woods. He was abducted by the Cypress native when he was barely two feet tall: “My parents took me to a golf tournament when I was in preschool to watch Tiger Woods play. I was completely mesmerized by his putting practice and from that day I got hooked on golf”. In fact, the first gift he remembers asking for is related to golf: “At eight or nine years old I asked for a golf set for my birthday and from that moment I started playing more intensely”.
He has a much more vivid and recent memory of Collin Morikawa: “When he won the Open and gave a memorable speech, I told myself that I wanted to do the same one day”. Almost nothing. What two references. Nakajima’s career cannot be understood either without Hideki Matsuyama, with whom he admits he talks from time to time and asks for advice.
Keita knows his roots and whenever he can he gives words of gratitude to the Japanese federation: “One of the things that has most influenced my career is that the JGA (Japanese Golf Association) has implemented a world-class training system by applying the latest training methods, data analysis and hiring foreign coaches to train players”. When asked about who his great rivals will be in the future, he does not hesitate to point out two: Ryo Hisatsune and Takumi Kanaya.
After a brilliant amateur career, it was time to turn professional. Autumn of 2022. Just a few weeks later he made his debut as such on the PGA Tour and finished among the top twelve. Everything seems simple. His first season as a pro he plays on the Japan Golf Tour, wins the Order of Merit and adds three new victories to his bag. As the best on the circuit and thanks to the agreement with the DP World Tour, this year Keita had full rights in Europe. After his victory in India, he has them secured for two more years. About his expectations in 2024, the Japanese points to the world ranking. He wants to finish the year among the top 60 in the world. It doesn’t seem like a utopia, as he is currently in 75th place. One more victory would definitely catapult him.
He currently holds the 13th position in the Race to Dubai ranking and the first place in the Asian Swing ranking, with two scoring events still to be played, Japan this week and China. He is one of the seven Japanese players with DP World Tour status in the Race to Dubai 2024. The Japanese also has his sights set on one of the 10 PGA Tour cards that are distributed on the European circuit and right now he has the goal within reach.
About his way of managing the pressure that his figure generates, he is clear about what he should focus on: “I control what happens by focusing a lot on golf and on tournament preparation. Train as much as possible and exercise to the maximum and trust in myself to the maximum. This is what I can control and not the pressure or expectations”.
In this sense for Nakajima, the control of emotions and the mental aspect is key. He makes an extra effort and works on it in a special way. “I try not to get excited, neither for better nor for worse with any of my shots. I usually focus more on analysing the circumstances, calculating as accurately as possible and raising my level of concentration to be able to execute my ideal swing”. Oriental mentality.
About his connections with Spain, he admits that he has not yet had time to visit our country, but “five years ago I was a teammate of Álex del Rey during the Arnold Palmer Cup of 2019 and it’s incredible the distance he can hit and his game seemed very attractive to me”.
What is the limit for Keita Nakajima? No one can know, what we do know is that he has the makings of a champion. We’ll see if this week playing at home he is able to shine in front of his own and aspire to an unforgettable victory.
